Why did New Kingdom pharaohs build tombs in the Valley of the Kings?

Hidden tombs were safer from robbers

Egyptian Tombs Quiz: 10 Questions That Test What You Know

This Egyptian tombs quiz covers mastabas, the Step Pyramid, the Valley of the Kings, Tutankhamun's tomb, Nefertari's painted tomb and the tomb robbers who emptied most of them. Ten questions test what you know about how Egyptians buried their dead.

Start Egyptian Tombs Quiz

🎯 Daily Trivia Challenge • 🧠 10 Questions • ⏱️ 150 Seconds

Question 1 / 10 Time: 150s

Early
What were early rectangular Egyptian tombs with flat roofs called?
Djoser
Who designed the Step Pyramid of Djoser, the first large stone pyramid?
Valley
Why did New Kingdom pharaohs build tombs in the Valley of the Kings?
Tut
What number was Tutankhamun's tomb given?
Queens
Whose tomb in the Valley of the Queens has some of Egypt's finest paintings?
Workers
Which village housed the craftsmen who built royal tombs?
Burial
What were the containers for mummified organs called?
Texts
Which guide to the afterlife was often placed in tombs?
Large
Which Valley of the Kings tomb has more than 120 rooms?
Figures
What were small figures meant to work for the dead called?

Explanations: answer key for all 10 questions

Q1: What were early rectangular Egyptian tombs with flat roofs called?
Answer: Mastabas
Mastaba means bench in Arabic, because the tombs look like low mud-brick benches.
Q2: Who designed the Step Pyramid of Djoser, the first large stone pyramid?
Answer: Imhotep
Imhotep stacked six mastabas of shrinking size around 2670 BC.
Q3: Why did New Kingdom pharaohs build tombs in the Valley of the Kings?
Answer: Hidden tombs were safer from robbers
Pyramids were obvious targets, so kings chose hidden rock-cut tombs near Thebes.
Q4: What number was Tutankhamun's tomb given?
Answer: KV62
KV stands for Kings' Valley, and tombs are numbered in order of discovery.
Q5: Whose tomb in the Valley of the Queens has some of Egypt's finest paintings?
Answer: Nefertari
Nefertari was the favorite wife of Ramses II.
Q6: Which village housed the craftsmen who built royal tombs?
Answer: Deir el-Medina
Its records include workers' strikes and sick notes.
Q7: What were the containers for mummified organs called?
Answer: Canopic jars
Each jar's lid showed one of the four sons of Horus.
Q8: Which guide to the afterlife was often placed in tombs?
Answer: Book of the Dead
Its spells helped the dead pass judgment.
Q9: Which Valley of the Kings tomb has more than 120 rooms?
Answer: KV5, for sons of Ramses II
Kent Weeks rediscovered its scale in 1995.
Q10: What were small figures meant to work for the dead called?
Answer: Shabtis
Some tombs held 365 shabtis, one for each day.

Egyptian Tombs Quiz – Houses for Eternity

Egyptians believed the dead needed a permanent home and supplies for the afterlife. Early kings and nobles were buried in mastabas, and later Imhotep designed the Step Pyramid, leading to the great pyramids of Giza.

Pyramids attracted robbers, so New Kingdom pharaohs chose hidden tombs cut into the cliffs of the Valley of the Kings. Walls were covered with spells, gods and scenes of the dead king passing through the underworld.

Despite precautions, nearly every tomb was robbed in ancient times. Tutankhamun's tomb is famous because it survived mostly intact, revealing thousands of objects that show how richly kings were buried.

What This Quiz Teaches

This quiz is for history fans exploring Egyptian tombs.

What mastabas were
Who designed the Step Pyramid
Why kings used hidden tombs
What canopic jars held
Why Tutankhamun's tomb was special

Did You Know?

Seti I's tomb is one of the longest.
Tomb workers went on strike under Ramses III.
Some tombs were reused.
Egyptian tombs faced the west for the setting sun.
KV64 was found in 2011.